2 kindergarteners injured in religious school shooting; suspected gunman dead in Northern California

Officials update Butte County school shooting

The Butte County Sheriff updates a school shooting where a 5 and 6 year old were injured on Wednesday and the shooter apparently killed himself.

BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - Two kindergartners were wounded Wednesday in a shooting at a tiny religious K-8 school in Northern California and deputies arrived to find the gunman on the ground near the playground, dead after apparently shooting himself, sheriff's officials said.

Deputies with the Butte County Sheriff's Department arrived to the scene of the shooting at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Palermo, a town of about 5,700 people south of Oroville. Officials said the suspected shooter is dead and likely killed himself.

The shooting happened at about 1 p.m.

The wounded students were taken to hospitals, one of which had to be airlifted. At an evening news conference, Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said both shooting victims are boys, ages 5 and 6. The kindergartners are said to be in "extremely critical condition," Honea said. "They have a long road ahead of them."

Further details about their injuries were not available.

Authorities rushed students initially to a gymnasium where they stayed until a bus arrived to take them off the grounds and to the Oroville Church of the Nazarene to be reunited with their families, Honea said.

Sheriff Honea said the shooter did not appear to have a connection to the school. Officials do not believe there is a connection between the shooter and the victims.

In Honea's evening update, he said the person responsible for the shooting is believed to have been identified, but officials are not releasing the identity yet because interviews are still being conducted to see who the shooter had interacted with. Honea said they were trying to contact the shooter's family before releasing his name.

The shooter had apparently made an appointment at the school days in advance. The appointment was with an administrator on campus on Wednesday and the shooting happened after the appointment, officials said.

Honea said they had received information that the shooter was in a meeting with the principal about enrolling a child at the school, though the meeting wasn't yet verified by investigators. Shortly after, shots rang out, Honea said.

Sheriff's officials said the shooter targeted the school because of its affiliation with the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Investigators said it was an Uber driver who drove the suspect to the school.

Near the school's slide and other playground equipment was the shooter's body, covered in a blue tarp, as officers stood nearby to secure the scene. The school abuts ranchland where cattle graze.

Honea had earlier said 911 calls reported "an individual on campus who had fired shots at students." When deputies arrived they found the gunman on the ground, dead after apparently shooting himself, Honea said.

The 911 calls came from a cell phone, which triggered the California Highway Patrol's response. When word of an active shooter was reported, the calls were transferred to the sheriff's department.

The first officer on scene was a CHP officer at 1:10 p.m., Honea said. An adult male was found to be deceased. A fire arm was recovered from the scene by the CHP officer. Sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene shortly after. The officers rendered medical aid to the shooting victims and the campus was searched and secured, Honea said.

Sixth grader Jocelyn Orlando described what happened to CBS News Sacramento.

"We were going in for lunch recess and basically everybody in my classroom heard shooting and most people were screaming," she said. "We all went into the office, we closed the curtains, locked the doors, basically did what we would do in a school shooting, and then one of the teachers came and we all ran into the gym."

The sheriff's office said they would hold another news conference Thursday at 1 p.m.

"My heart is breaking for everyone impacted by this tragedy," Assemblyman James Gallagher, whose area includes Palermo, said in a statement. "As a community, we'll all be hugging our loved ones closer today as we pray for the victims and try to make sense of something so senseless."

Palermo is about 65 miles north of Sacramento.

The private school enrolls 33 students, as of 2022, according to the school.

The school has been open since 1965, according to its website.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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